


A Soldier's Baby

by gaysharks



Category: Call the Midwife
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, F/M, Fluff ??, I'm crying, Pregnancy, Unexpected Pregnancy, patsy trixie friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-18
Updated: 2017-08-18
Packaged: 2018-12-16 21:52:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11837757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaysharks/pseuds/gaysharks
Summary: Set post-2016 Christmas special // Trixie has moved on from Tom and has found herself someone new - John, the brother of a patient. However, after months of what seemed like the perfect relationship, John is enlisted to fight in an almost insignificant war in Borneo. He doesn't make it back and with the help of the other midwives and nuns at Nonnatus, Trixie has to learn to deal with the aftermath.this was planned and written before Barbara's death so for everyone's sake she's still alive thanks xox





	1. Chapter 1

June 1963

"Come on Linda, just one more push and then the baby's here! You can do it! That's a girl!"

The young woman's screams echoed throughout the small 1940s terrace, fully audible for everyone around to hear. This was a common sound around Poplar - the midwives were always on call to one household or another. Sister Monica Joan often said that the women of Poplar "breed like rabbits".

Today, Trixie Franklin and Patsy Mount were at the Green's house, helping Linda deliver her firstborn. She was a young woman, in her mid-twenties, who lived with her husband. However, he was fighting in the Borneo confrontation, and wouldn't be back for some time. While he was gone, Linda's brother, James Woodford, was staying with her to make sure she was alright, and help with the baby when it came.

After three hours of pushing, Linda eventually gave birth to a healthy baby boy.

"Congratulations darling! Here's your little one."

Nurse Mount handed the baby over to Linda, while Trixie went into the kitchen to give James the good news.

When she got there, he was leaning against the kitchen counter reading a letter.

"It's a boy James!"

He looked up when he heard her voice.

"That's good. Healthy?"

"Perfectly. What are you reading?"

She made her way over to him so she could read over his shoulder.

"It's a conscription letter. I'm being sent to Borneo to fight."

"Oh no!" She glanced at the piece of paper.

"When are you leaving?"

"In just over a month."

A silence descended on the room, and both hearts sank a little.

"Well, on the bright side, we still have this weekend!"

James' face lit up at the thought. It was Trixie's weekend off, and he was taking her to his farm on the outskirts of London for a bit of 'fun'.

"You're still able to come?"

"Of course I am, silly. Do you really think I'd miss this?"

She winked at him, and he blushed, his face turning a rosy shade of pink.

"Right then Trixie, mother is - oh. Am I interrupting something here?"

The couple looked up to see Patsy standing in the doorway of the kitchen. James blushed again, and Trixie gave him an affectionate kiss, before saying goodbye, and following Patsy out of the house.

"You really like him, don't you?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Trixie, you positively glow when you're around him!"

"Well, wouldn't you?"

"I don't know - he's not really my type."

Trixie's face fell, and Patsy immediately regretted what she'd said.

"However, he seems absolutely lovely, and you seem much happier with him than with that blasted curate."

Trixie giggled. "Yes, you're right. He's so perfect! He's kind and sweet and funny, and not too lacking in the looks department."

Both girls burst out laughing, genuine happiness shining out of their faces.

A few days later, Trixie was in her room packing for her weekend away with James. Patsy and Barbara were sitting on the bed opposite her, giving opinions on everything from perfume to pantyhose.

"Right then girls. I've got everything packed except my outfit for the journey. I've got two options here."

The first option was a pair of high-waisted denim shorts, with a red and white striped halter neck, and red patent kitten heels. The other option was a short white and blue dress, with white plimsoles.

"The shorts."

"Definitely the shorts."

Trixie folded the dress up and packed it in her suitcase, then went into the en-suite to change.

"Ta-da!"

She came out of the bathroom looking as stunning as ever, and Patsy and Barbara applauded as she walked over to them.

"Good choice ladies. I think James will love this."

She giggled and winked at her friends, then sat down on the bed between them.

"I'll miss you two, you know."

"Oh, Trixie. It's only for the weekend. And think of it this way - two days of fun, and then you go back to delivering babies. It's not for long, so make the most of it."

Trixie smiled, and hugged each girl in turn, then picked up her bags, and carried them downstairs, to the hall of Nonnatus House.

Downstairs, she was greeted by Sister Monica Joan, bearing gifts of cakes.

"Take these for your journey. You'll be needing a lot of energy at the farm."

The Sister winked at her, and Trixie gasped, feigning innocence.

"Thank you Sister - I shall make good use of these."

Just as she placed the cake tin down next to her bag, the main door opened, and James walked sheepishly inside.

"Hello, darling."

"James!" She ran over to him and wrapped her arms around him.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Of course. Let me just say goodbye."

She ran off into the depths of Nonnatus House to say goodbye to everyone and left James awkwardly standing at the door.

A few seconds later, Patsy came down the stairs and made her way towards him.

"Hi, James. I was wondering if we could have a talk?"

He looked at her nervously, wondering if there was anything wrong with his nephew that he needed to know about.

"Uh, sure thing Nurse."

"I just wanted to let you know that although Trixie acts strong, she's still not fully over what happened with Mr. Hereward, and she's only just stopped going to her AA meetings. If you do anything to hurt her, you'll be sorry."

Behind them, Trixie's heels could be heard clicking on the wooden floor, getting nearer and nearer.

"So anyway James, I hope you two have fun together! And watch out for those squirrels. They may seem cute, but they will savage you at the first opportunity they get."

"What are you two talking about?"

"Ah, Trixie. I was just telling James about the time I got attacked by squirrels in the New Forest. You remember that story don't you?"

"Oh yes - is that the one where when they were done they ran off with your food?"

"That would be the one."

"Yes, I shall be wary. Anyway, James, shall we go?"

He made eye contact with her and smiled, although Patsy's words were still echoing in his head.

"Of course, darling."

She linked her arm through his and waved goodbye to Patsy, who followed them outside.

She stood on the steps of Nonnatus House waving them off, then when she could no longer see the car, she went back inside and shut the door behind her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> two chapters in one day?? wow  
> all that copying and pasting sure was hard work

August 1963

It was two months since Trixie had returned from her weekend away with James, and since then, he had been drafted to join his brother-in-law fighting in Borneo. Apart from that, life had returned to normal. There had been no outbreaks of infectious disease in Poplar and each birth was as smooth as the last one. Summer had arrived in all its glory, and in between shifts the nurses were more than happy to have an ice lolly or two in the garden of Nonnatus House.

Patsy arrived back at Nonnatus just after six am. It was a pleasant morning - just warming up, with a cool breeze every so often. Sunrise had been no more than half an hour ago, so there was still a touch of rosiness to the sky, and there was a fresh smell in the air. Patsy's shift had just ended, after a pretty uneventful night. She'd only been called out once, at 4:30, and had spent the rest of the night asleep by the telephone. Now that she was done, all she wanted to do was curl up in bed and sleep.

She tiptoed up the creaky, wooden stairs to her shared bedroom, careful not to wake anyone. When she arrived at her room, she was shocked to find that Trixie wasn't in bed. She was about to leave the room to investigate when she heard someone retching in the en-suite. She slowly opened the door and peeked in, to find Trixie kneeling in front of the toilet, gagging and vomiting. Patsy stood staring at her for a moment, hoping she was okay, then realised that she could try and help in some way. She made her way over to Trixie and with one hand pulled her hair away from her face, and with the other, rubbed her back to comfort her.

After what seemed like forever, Trixie stopped vomiting, and sat back from the toilet, leaning against Patsy for support. She let out a weak "Thank you", then stood up and went over to the sink to wash her face and swill some water.

"What's all this about?"

"Hm?" Trixie turned away from the mirror and faced Patsy.

"This. How long has it been going on for?"

"Oh not long, maybe a few days..." Trixie was being purposefully evasive, and Patsy knew this. She raised an eyebrow at her, and Trixie sighed.

"Just over two weeks."

"Trixie! Why didn't you tell anyone? And how have you hidden this?"

"I didn't think it was serious - I thought that if I just didn't think about it, it would go away. And everyone's so busy around here that I didn't think they'd notice me occasionally slipping away to the toilet."

A silence descended on the room as both girls thought about the current situation; each knew the cause, but neither was willing to say it out loud. Eventually, Trixie broke the silence.

"I need a pregnancy test."

"I know."

"Could you ask Dr. Turner to send a urine sample to The London, and pretend it's for a patient? I can't imagine what he'd think if he found out."

"Of course. But people are going to find out eventually. It's not exactly the easiest thing to hide."

"Yes, well, we'll deal with that when we come to it. There's no point making plans when nothing's been confirmed."

"Well then. You get me that urine sample and I'll leave it with Dr. Turner later on. Then we'll have our confirmation."

"Thank you, Patsy."

Trixie wrapped her arms around Patsy in a tight embrace and rested her head on her shoulders. Ever since Patsy had joined Nonnatus House, the two had been very close, now more than ever.

Later on, while Trixie was out on her rounds, Patsy popped down to the surgery to pay a visit to Dr. Patrick Turner. When she got there, she was greeted by the smiling face of Shelagh, Dr. Turner's wife and assistant.

"Hello, Patsy. What can we do for you today?"

"I've got a urine sample here for Patrick to send to the London. I'm thinking there's a baby on the way."

"Yours?"

"Oh Lord no. It's from a patient."

"Oh okay, I see. Shall I go and give this to him?"

"That would be wonderful, thank you, Shelagh."

She passed the little glass bottle to Shelagh, who inspected it to make sure it was up to standard.

"There's no name on this." She looked up at Patsy questioningly.

"Ah yes. The patient wishes to remain anonymous for now, due to her situation. Just put my name on the label, I'm sure it will be fine - all you have to do is explain that it's not my sample."

"Sure, whatever you need Patsy. Anything else I can do for you?"

"That's all, thank you, Shelagh. I really appreciate it."

"Well, you're very welcome."

The two women said their goodbyes, then Patsy left the surgery and made her way back to Nonnatus House to help the other nurses who were on call.

That night, Trixie couldn't sleep, and apparently, neither could Patsy.

"Did you get to see Dr. Turner?" Trixie asked her friend.

"Yes and no. He got the sample, but I only got to speak to Shelagh. We had a quick chat, then I left it with her, and she said she'd give it to him."

"Well, that's good. Thank you." Trixie paused for a moment, then remembered something.

"Whose name is on the label? You have to have a name for a pregnancy test. Please tell me you didn't tell her it was me."

"No, of course not. I just told her that I had a patient who wanted to remain anonymous for now due to her situation, and to just put my name on it instead."

"Oh, well that's a relief. Thank you for doing this, Pats."

"Anytime Trixie."

"When can we expect the results?"

"I'm not sure - I forgot to ask that. I assume it would be some time over the next five days, but don't take my word for it."

Trixie placed her hand on her flat stomach.

"Well, I think I know what the result will be."

She smiled to herself, then said goodnight to Patsy, and fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Three days after Patsy had dropped the urine sample off at the surgery, Dr. Turner arrived at Nonnatus House with a brown envelope addressed to her.

"I believe this is for a patient of yours?"

"What is it?"

"The results of the pregnancy test."

"Oh, yes, of course. Thank you, Doctor."

"No problem at all, Patsy. Although, I hope you don't mind me asking if I could pay her a visit? That is if the results are positive."

"Um, I'm not too sure about that at the moment. Maybe later? It's just that her circumstances are quite difficult, and she'd rather that no one knew of her situation just yet."

"Oh, okay. Well, let me know as soon as she's ready."

"Of course. Thank you again, Patrick. I'm sure she'll appreciate this."

Dr. Turner said his goodbyes, then went down the steps of Nonnatus House, and onto his morning rounds. Patsy shut the door behind him, then made her way upstairs, where Trixie was getting ready for the day.

"Guess what I have!"

Trixie turned around at the sound of Patsy's voice.

"Is that-"

"Yep! It's the moment of truth Trixie - am I going to be a godmother or not?"

"Yes Patsy, that's absolutely why we're doing this. Now pass me the blasted thing, or else I'll have to rip it out of your hands. I'm absolutely bursting with nerves, and you're not helping."

"Sorry, Trixie." Patsy sheepishly handed over the envelope and waited with mute anticipation for Trixie to open it and read the results.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes!"

"Dear Miss Patsy Mount," Trixie began to read from the letter.

"The results from your urine test confirm that you are pregnant..."

Trixie's voice trailed off when she realised what she'd just read.

"Oh lord, Patsy. I'm going to have a baby."

"I know."

"What am I going to do? I'm an unwed midwife who lives with nuns! Of all the people to get pregnant out of marriage, none of them had any of the knowledge of birth control or anything that I have. The nuns will hate me - I'm putting the whole of Nonnatus House to shame."

Trixie began to cry, and Patsy whispered comforting words to her, rubbing her back as she spoke.

"Shh, it's okay. Do you know who the father is?" Patsy already knew the answer to this question, but thought she might as well ask it out of courtesy.

"Y-yes. It's James, James Woodford. You know - the one I spent the weekend with?"

"Linda's brother?"

"Yes. Oh, my." She held her head in her hands.

"I'm so embarrassed. What will people think of me?"

"Trixie, it doesn't matter what people will think of you. What matters is that you're a good mother to this baby, and you keep both of you healthy."

"Yes. Yes, you're right. Okay. I can do this. I'm going to be a mother and I'm going to be good at it and it doesn't matter what people think."

She gave a weak smile and smoothed her dress down over her still flat stomach.

"That's a girl. Now then - do we have rounds to go on?"

"Ugh. That's the last thing I could do with right now. But sure, let's go."

The two stood up and made their way downstairs, ready to go and help the elderly and disabled of Poplar.

When they got back from their rounds, Trixie and Patsy decided to pay a visit to Linda and baby Thomas. He was just over 2 months old, with big blue eyes and curly brown hair, just like his mother.

"Hello, Linda. Hello, little one!"

Thomas was lying on his back in the pram, his legs kicking up at the air in excitement.

Patsy picked him up and held him with his head on her shoulder, while Trixie set up the equipment. It wasn't a big ordeal, just a quick once over, as Linda hadn't been able to make it to the clinic this week, but the two thought it better to be safe than sorry.

When they had checked both mother and baby, and politely declined numerous offers of tea, the pair packed up their things and prepared to leave. Just as they were putting their coats on, Trixie took Linda aside.

"Linda, I hope this doesn't seem too forward, but I was wondering if you have an address for James or his regiment in Borneo? I have something important that I need to tell him as soon as possible."

"I-I'm really sorry Trixie. James is... he was killed in action soon after he arrived. I only got the letter a couple of weeks ago. They haven't even sent his body back over."

Trixie's heart stopped and her breath caught in her throat. This couldn't be happening. It had to be some sort of joke.

She knew of the full horrors of war and had seen what they'd done to her father, but she'd never imagined that someone she loved and cared for so deeply could actually be taken from her by war. Her eyes filled with tears, and Linda wrapped her arms around her.

"I'm so sorry Trixie." Linda could feel herself beginning to cry as well.

"When's the funeral?" Trixie asked, pulling away from the embrace.

"In a few days, when his body arrives. I'll give you the date when it's confirmed."

Trixie nodded, then wiped her face with a handkerchief. She let out a weak smile, then walked over to Patsy, who had been standing silently by the door and had heard everything.

"I'm so so sorry darling. Let's get you back to Nonnatus for a nice cup of Horlick's and a rest. Thank you for your time Linda, and don't hesitate to call us at any time if you need us."

Patsy rubbed Trixie's back, and when they got out of the house, put her equipment on her bike for her.

The two girls rode back to Nonnatus in silence, and when they got there, Trixie went straight to bed.

Later on, while the Nonnatuns were having supper, Trixie's absence was noted. The last time anyone remembered seeing her was just before she left to go on her rounds with Patsy.

"Is Trixie okay, Patsy? It's just that I've hardly seen her all day." Sister Mary Cynthia turned to Patsy.

"Um, well, not really. You all remember James, right?" The Nonnatuns nodded, worry showing clearly on their faces.

"Well, I'm afraid today Trixie got some rather bad news. He was killed in Borneo a few weeks ago, soon after arriving. Understandably, she isn't taking it too well."

A silence descended around the table. It felt like yesterday that they'd lost one of their own, Sister Evangelina, and the weight of this loss was still heavy in their hearts. They couldn't bear to imagine how Trixie felt.

Eventually, Sister Julienne spoke up.

"We will be praying for her, won't we Sisters?"

The other nuns nodded.

"In the meantime, I'll take her off the rota until she feels she can handle it. Patsy, you wouldn't mind taking some tea up for her later, would you?"

"No, of course not. Thank you, Sister."

The rest of the meal was taken in almost complete silence, broken only occasionally by someone asking for some food to be passed down the table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 15/07/18 - chapter 4 should be done at some point in the next few days so uh ! here we are


End file.
